Friday, November 5, 2010

I love reading lists like the ones that they do on io9 and The Onion AV Club, so I thought I would try a few of these free-form suckers out.

Let me know what you think and if you like it, I’ll try to incorporate a few in my posting schedule.

With Action Replayy released this weekend, we get to see an Akshay jodi that has oddly never really been done before - aside from a much beloved (by me, at least) fake out in Khakee.

Akshay, like many Bollywood celebrities, is highly superstitious and likes to repeat the same pairings over and over. And, well, if that actress happens to be Katrina Kaif (his current “lucky charm”) then I am not complaining. He is also somehow able to synthesize chemistry with almost anyone - male or female - but if the film is not a hit, then the pairing probably won’t be repeated, Deepika Padukone notwithstanding.

(Digging in to Akshay’s back catalog, I also found some films that I simply MUST track down as soon as possible, especially Hatya: The Murder, the synopsis of which mentioned two words guaranteed to get me into the theater - ‘snake spirit,’ and Hum Hain Bemisaal which has the one magic word: PRAN.)

In reverse chronological order:

1. Jiah Khan in Housefull

You all know the story - or if you don’t it doesn’t matter. Akshay starred as the Jack Tripper character in this extended Three’s Company romp. Although technically his heroine in Housefull was the limp-limbed Deepika Padukone, I loved Akshay’s chemistry with Jiah Khan in their scenes together and I hope this isn’t a one time pairing. She plays well off of his ‘nerdy’ persona and they are both very physical actors, which is always a treat to watch. There is nothing worse than a heroine who doesn’t know what to do with her hands...

Let’s repeat this one, producers!

2. Vidya Balan in Heyy Babyy

Two for two with Sajid Khan! I wonder if Sajid Khan knows how much food for thought he has provided me with. Anyways, poor Vidya Balan was mercilessly mocked for her appearance in Heyy Babyy but I thought she and Akshay had some very nice chemistry in their scenes. The main relationship in this Three Men and a Baby-esque film was between the “Three Men” (Riteish Deshmukh, Fardeen Khan, and Akshay) but I thought Vidya held her own.

Vidya is another very sensual and physical actress who played off of Akshay really well. Since Heyy Babyy did fairly well at the box office, I can only assume that her age (Akki likes ‘em young, which is why he should work with Jiah again) and her lack of desire to prance around in a bikini have kept this jodi from taking off.

3. Sridevi in Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahin

This one was released in 2004 but had been sitting on the shelf for (at least 10) years before that but I’ll stick it in here anyways. Sridevi plays an outspoken village ‘girl’ named Durga and Akshay is her policeman husband. This being a Sridevi film starring a younger actor who didn’t have much clout at the time, Sridevi is for all intents and purposes the ‘hero’ of this film, with Akshay relegated to a supporting role... and the actors put so little effort into it that their voices are dubbed by other people and their characters are even played by other people towards the end of the film.

(Awwwwww!!! He loves Sridevi!)

Who knows what personal conflicts Sridevi and Akshay had but the end result was, to quote Beth, avoid yaar.

4. Mahima Chaudhary in Khiladi 420

Ahhh... the Khiladi movies! Who doesn’t love these? And who doesn’t love parallel cinema darling Mahima Chaudhary? Now, who was the genius that decided to combine the two? Mahima never had much luck in commercial film and this was no exception, although she did give it her all. This was a match just not destined to be... now, if we could get the two of them together on her home turf in a slow-burning grown-up romance or something, that would be worth watching.

Anybody want to invest in that? Mahima-ji? Akshay-sir?

5. Tabu in Tu Chor Main Sipahi

First of all, I would pay good money to see a film where Tabu plays an uptight undercover policewoman who is out to bust Akshay Kumar, who is playing a smooth-talking crook.

Good. Money.

Now, we all know that the point of any Saif-Akshay film is the Saif-Akshay (or “Sakshay”, as Veracious calls it) jodi, so it’s not wonder that poor Tabu got lost in the shuffle. (Potential rape! Fun times for Tabu!)

She did appear WITH Akshay again in the much (much) better Hera Pheri but not opposite him. Next time, Tabu is giving an interview, we should ask - instead of the boring ‘when are you getting married?’ Maybe the reason she’s not getting married is the same reason she never starred with Akshay again? We do know he likes to “be friendly” with his co-stars...

(Naughty, Filmi Girl, spreading gossip!)

6. Juhi Chawla in Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi

Now, Juhi plays Akshay’s sister in Ek Rishtaa and they both make cameos in Om Shanti Om but this is - as far as I know - the only film where they are paired opposite one another. Look, it’s directed by David Dhawan and has khiladi in the title, what can I possibly say about it?

I’ll let the wikipedia entry spell it out: The film didn't perform well theoretically but however it was Superhit later on Satellite channels and DVD circuits.

At the time, Juhi’s acting abilities were far beyond Akshay’s and they were kind of a weird match. Plus, the real audience for this wanted three things: Action, Laughs, and a Skin Show. Did it deliver? Kind of, but the pair wasn’t repeated.

7. Rekha in Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi

This requires no explanation - only video.

Look, when you search “Akshay Rekha” in youtube this is what comes up! It has over half a million hits.

Why wasn’t there a whole series of films made starring them?! WHY?!

8. Kajol in “Yeh Dillagi”

Two words: Kissing scene.

My personal theory? Ajay Devgn was like “Kajol, babe, I don’t like that Akshay getting his hands all over you. He’s way too sexy.”

4 comments:

Oh God, Yeh Dillagi was a great movie. I can recall right now songs like Naam Kya Hai or Ole Ole with the Saif dance haha or even Dekho zara dekho barsat chali... Yeah I love the movie.Kajol was showing sooo much of her dark skin. I remember being pretty young and quite shocked!

i think he made a decent pair with ayesha takia in thast tasveer whatever. bubbly girl and serious guy sort. i dont particularly like kat but they have done wonders on box office together.somehow he never seems at ease with kareena kapoor. i would love to see him pair up with kon kona sen sharma.

For me the best Akshay pairing is the second film I watched him in. Namastey London was such an unexpected fun ride (standing to repeat viewings) and I loved how Akshay took a back seat to inexperienced but lovely Katrina. I liked the fact that he was confident enough to do that.

Akshay to me is not someone who has easy chemistry with women as jodis. I liked him with Aishwarya and Aisha - despite the obvious age difference-. But I think he has better on screen (non sexual) chemistry with male actors.